Mixue high-end RMB9 drink: Key takeaways
- Mixue responded to jokes about its low-budget image by presenting its RMB9 Taro Ball Grape drink using the visual language of luxury advertising
- #ThisCupOfMixueGoesHighEnd trended as consumers took the joke to restaurants and hotel bars
- The campaign comes as Mixue shifts from rapid expansion towards improving individual-store performance
Mixue (蜜雪冰城) has found a brief home in the high end. It’s not a place the brand is likely to stay. They only arrived there after an online joke poked fun at the classlessness of their low-budget beverages. In response, Mixue set a wine glass against glamorous surroundings and filled it with a drink that costs only RMB9 (US$1.25).
The joke began with autumn’s first cup of milk tea (秋天的第一杯奶茶), an annual social-media ritual in which consumers send drinks to friends, partners and colleagues. This year, retailers elaborated by packaging milk tea inside bouquets, an attempt to add a premium twist to the trend.
Then Mixue joined in. Almost immediately the online community began joking that China’s famously inexpensive tea chain was not sufficiently shangwu (商务) – a term that, in this use, means polished or prestigious enough for a socially performative gift.
Rather than argue, Mixue exaggerated the criticism. Its Elegance Never Goes Out of Style videos poured the brand’s Taro Ball Grape (芋圆葡萄) drink into elegant glassware and presented it using the visual language of a luxury advert.
The series helped push #ThisCupOfMixueGoesHighEnd (#这一杯蜜雪高端局) onto Douyin’s trending list. Users reproduced the format in restaurants and hotel bars while comments sections began treating the ability to buy several Mixue drinks as the benchmark for an extravagant lifestyle.
One viral post claimed an upmarket Shanghai restaurant was charging RMB398 (US$55.50) for the drink
The joke even travelled far enough to become misinformation. One viral post claimed an upmarket Shanghai restaurant was charging RMB398 (US$55.50) for the drink. It wasn’t true. The image had actually been filmed at a Shenzhen restaurant and contained no such price.
The Dao view: Mixue can dress up, but it can’t trade up
Behind the parody there’s actually reason for Mixue to make a serious positioning decision. The group’s first-half revenue rose just 2.3% this year, while profit fell 14.7%. If you total up all the brand group’s stores, the number hits almost 64,000 outlets. Could it be that rapid expansion is no longer producing the desired returns?
Management has said they are moving towards improving individual-store performance
Management has said they are moving towards improving individual-store performance. The ‘quality without price increases’ promise is being maintained. Perhaps this online joke lands at a hilariously apt moment. Mixue can masquerade in the high end, but they know consumers come to them for the low budget.
